UK Athletics chief executive Niels de Vos has called for Tyson Gay and Asafa
Powell to be banned for a “minimum” of four years after both admitted
failing drugs tests.

A “shocked and deeply saddened” De Vos insisted a two-year suspension was “not sufficient” to punish two of the fastest men of all time, despite both sprinters’ claims that there was more to their positive tests than meets the eye.

A tearful Gay, whose times are second to only Usain Bolt in the history of the 100 metres, said he was “let down” by someone he trusted, while former world-record holder Powell insisted he had never “knowingly” doped.

However, De Vos said there was virtually no excuse for a failed test and urged athletics authorities to impose a “minimum” ban of four years.

He told Telegraph Sport: “The bottom line is, for me, a cheat is a cheat – almost whatever the circumstances. And if these guys are cheats then they should face whatever is coming to them.

“I wish that the IAAF and the international authorities would give them the sort of penalties that I’ve asked for in the past very loudly. Because, I think a two-year ban is just not sufficient.”

Gay was told by the US Anti-Doping Agency on Friday that his A sample from an out-of-competition test in May was positive, while Powell tested positive for a banned stimulant at last month’s Jamaican Championships.

If either is able to prove the substances were from products not intended to enhance performance and that they had taken all necessary steps to prevent them entering their bodies, they could escape with a short ban or – in extreme cases – even a slap on the wrist.

A four-year suspension is highly unlikely unless there were serious aggravating circumstances, such as evidence of multiple doping violations.

UK Athletics performance director Neil Black said the Gay and Powell cases made him wonder whether he needed to remind British athletes to be even more vigilant when it came to what they were putting inside their bodies.

But De Vos said: “I don’t think British athletes need that message, actually. That’s not complacent. We’ve, particularly in my time, invested hugely in education programmes to make sure that people know about their responsibilities.

“It’s just absolutely second nature in Britain that people know they have to be careful. It’s a job and, like any other job, you have to take care.”

UK Anti-Doping chief executive Andy Parkinson added: “At this time, it is important not to speculate on the current cases reported until the formal legal process has been completed.

“Athletes know, if they are doping, they will eventually be caught, either through the testing programme or other intelligence-led activities.

“We are working hard with sports to educate UK athletes on the values of clean sport, the risks of doping, and how to avoid accidental positives.

“In the last 18 months, our education programmes have reached over 7,000 athletes and their support personnel, working closely with the national governing bodies of sport to protect all those who believe in a culture of clean sport.”